Backsplash Tiling Plan

The backsplash

Date

Run length

Worktop to cabinets

MAIN AREA

Cooker width

Cooker height

COOKER AREA

Deducted

NET AREA

Waste %

Box coverage

BOXES

Left over

Trim needed

Tile

Dye lot no.

Figures and rules

Standard worktop to cabinets

18 in

Behind the cooker

taller — usually up to the extractor

Straight / brick bond waste

10%

Diagonal / herringbone waste

15-20%

⚠ Sockets and switches

do NOT deduct — you cut around them

Deduct only

large openings, e.g. a window

⚠ What decides the bill

BOX rounding, not the waste %

Typical 12 ft kitchen

21.5 sq ft → 3 boxes → 30 sq ft

⚠ Dye lots

do NOT match between runs — KEEP the spare

Edge trim

sold separately, most forgotten item

Before you start

• Height measured, not assumed to be 18 in
• Cooker wall measured as its own rectangle
• All boxes from ONE dye lot, checked on the label
• Edge trim bought at the same time
• Enough thinset and grout for the real area
• A cutter that suits the material
• Power off at the consumer unit before removing socket faceplates
• Worktop protected — you will drop something
• Layout dry-laid to check where the cuts land
• Starting line marked level, not measured off the worktop
• Leftovers and dye lot number stored together

Box rounding, not waste percentage

A 21.5 sq ft backsplash with 10% waste is 23.7 sq ft, but boxes come in 10s — so you buy 30. That is 39% more than the area, and no waste setting changes it. Plan for it rather than against it.

Keep the spare tile

Dye lots do not match between production runs. The remainder of your own box is the only tile that will ever match this wall. Store it with the lot number — it is the difference between replacing one tile and retiling the room.

Do not deduct sockets

You cut the tile around them, so it is consumed either way and the offcut is rarely reusable. Deduct a window; never deduct a socket. Deducting small openings is a reliable way to end up a box short.